Nikki Main Science Writer for Dailymail.Com
February 20, 2024 17:30, Updated February 20, 2024 17:30
- Google cuts hundreds of jobs by introducing in-house AI software ‘Goose’
- The job cuts come even though the company generated $20.7 billion in revenue last year.
- Read more: AI is coming to white-collar jobs
Despite posting record profits, Google has announced a flurry of new layoffs, raising concerns that staff will be replaced by AI.
The tech giant confirmed last month that it had made around 1,000 employees redundant across its sales, hardware and engineering teams, with “hundreds of people being laid off from each team.”
Google reported profits of $20.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of 52% year over year, but a 4% decline in the number of employees.
Other major artificial intelligence investors, including Amazon, Microsoft, Discord, and eBay, have also laid off tens of thousands of employees in the past 12 months.
Employees are currently protesting the layoffs, with Google software engineer Diane Hirsch Theriault writing on LinkedIn: “Glassy-eyed leaders are killing the golden goose while pursuing ambiguous direction (AI). ),” he wrote.
Alphabet Labor Union responded to Company X’s dismissal, write: “Tonight, Google began another round of unnecessary layoffs.
“Our members and teammates work hard every day to build great products for our users, and the company cannot continue to lay off colleagues while making billions of dollars every quarter.” We won’t stop fighting until our jobs are safe!”
Kenneth Smith, an engineering manager at Google, said he was notified by email that his job would be eliminated from management and complained in a LinkedIn post that the company “doesn’t recognize humanity.” .
“I have had a great deal of anger and frustration with Google’s leadership over their response to last January’s 12,000 layoffs,” he wrote, adding, “There is no evidence that they have learned much. It’s not often seen,” he added. From that experience.
Last week, Google released Goose, a large-scale language model (LLM). It was built for internal use only and trained on over 25 years of engineering expertise.
According to an internal overview, you’ll “answer questions about Google-specific technologies, write code using our internal tech stack, and support new features like code editing based on natural language prompts.”
Massive layoffs come as technology companies announce investments in AI, with more than 5,500 people laid off by the second week of January.
Amazon and Google announced last month that they would lay off hundreds of employees, shortly after each separately confirmed they would invest millions of dollars in AI startup Anthropic.
Microsoft laid off about 10,000 employees a year ago, cut another 2,000 jobs in its gaming division last month, and cut 17% of its workforce at Discord, the messaging app used by gamers.
Google cut its entire ad sales team, and Amazon cut positions at Prime Video and MGM Studios.
According to data from Layoffs.fyi, 4,600 jobs have been lost to AI since May 2023, with around 41,800 employees laid off across 159 tech companies so far this year.
The job cuts come as Google and Microsoft’s parent company Alphabet Inc.’s stock price rises by a percentage point, revenue is expected to rise 12 percent in the first quarter of 2024, and the Big Tech company expects a significant profit increase. Nevertheless, it was done.
Analysts at Mizuho Securities reported that Google’s profits increased due to its “strong position in the search and advertising markets and continued investment in innovation and AI.”
Google’s reported profit is the fastest growth rate since Alphabet reported a $13.6 billion loss in 2022
“You’ll answer questions about Google-specific technology, write code using the internal tech stack, and support new features like code editing based on natural language prompts,” according to an internal overview.
Although the number of layoffs directly attributable to AI this year remains relatively low, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which reported that 381 layoffs in January were due to artificial intelligence, more It is quite possible that there will be many layoffs.
According to the report, the majority of AI-related job cuts are due to companies focusing on developing AI technology, or because AI technology directly replaces jobs and roles previously performed by employees. .
This is not uncommon among major technology companies, many of which have cut headcount as part of cost-cutting measures and instead invested money in AI talent and expensive graphics processing unit (GPU) computer chips. There is.
GPU chips focus on graphics rendering and numerical computation for training AI software.
“These companies are typically reducing the number of employees associated with less successful product lines or departments because they want to reposition toward AI,” said Dice, a technology recruiting platform. said Art Zeile, CEO of owner DHI Group. CNBC.
Google is reportedly planning more layoffs in 2024, but CEO Sundar Pichai says it won’t be as bad as the mass layoffs in 2023, when the company cut 12,000 people in January alone. It is claimed that it is.
Pichai said this is necessary because the company needs to focus on “removing layers to simplify execution and increase speed in some areas.”
Google’s senior vice president Philip Schindler spoke about the company’s layoffs and restructuring efforts during a recent earnings call.
“Let’s be clear: As we reorganize, there are always opportunities to serve our customers and grow more efficiently and smartly,” Schindler said.
“We’re not restructuring so that AI can take over. That’s the important thing here.”
“But we think there’s a huge opportunity for AI-powered solutions to actually deliver amazing results,” he continued. [return on investment] That’s why we’re making some of these adjustments. ”
A newly leaked memo says AI technology will be a key focus for Google in 2024, with Pichai setting goals like developing advanced, safe and responsible AI and building the most useful personal computing platforms and devices. Benzinga reported.
“We have ambitious goals and will invest in big priorities this year,” Pichai wrote in an internal memo obtained by The Verge.
“The reality is that we must make difficult choices to create this investment capacity,” Pichai wrote.
Dailymail.com has contacted Google for comment.